Using the Internet to Acquire Digital Images for Classroom Use

The Internet is a gold mine for finding digital images to use in your classroom. On numerous occasions I have found photos from Google or another photo site and used them on worksheets, in a blog entry, for writing prompts, or for something else. Below are some of my favorite sites for finding photos to use in the classroom.

1. Google Images.
   
2. Flickr - Millions of users, million of photos. This is Web 2.0 at its finest. This photo sharing site allows users to tag their photos, or add keywords to them when they upload. When you search for photos here, you enter a tag into the search box and any photo that has been tagged with that keyword is returned. Tips for using Flickr:
   • Try a tag search for math nature and you will get photos from folks who have tagged photos with those words. Go to the site and try this.
   • You can also do a group search for photos. Do the same search from above and your results will show groups who have uploaded photos with the theme math nature.
3. KidsClick - This page contains links to special image databases under the following categories: Art, Astronomy/Space, Animals, History/Society. Some of the links include Astronomy Picture of the Day, FWS Image Archive, and American Memory Collection.
4. Yotophoto - From the site: "Yotophoto is a search engine for free-to-use stock photographs and images. These are images that are either in the Public Domain or released under generous Creative Commons, GNU FDL or similar licenses."
5. Stock.Xchng - This site is full of stock photos for professionals. It is still full of photos that are great for classroom use.
6. PixelPerfect - Another site meant for professionals but full of of photos appropriate for classroom use. This is a comprehensive site on digital photography with tons of information on cameras, reviews, links, and more.
7. Pics4Learning - A copyright free image library for teachers. I can't say I'm real high on this one--there just isn't the depth here that you'll find in the sites above.

By the way, the above information is copied word for word from my Website Future of Math: Digital Cameras.


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